Rolling with the flow brings kindness in Barbados

I am not a winter person because I do not like cold weather — at all. For me, ideal temperatures are when we can all comfortably wear shorts. My aversion to winter is so strong, these lyrics of Jimmy Buffet’s song titled "Boat Drinks," resonate with me.

I've got to fly to Saint Somewhere.

Waitress, I need two more boat drinks.
Then I'm headin south 'fore my dream shrinks.
I gotta go where it's warm.
I gotta go where there ain't any snow,
where there ain't any blow, 'cause my fin sinks so low.
I gotta go where it's warm.

Gregg Patterson(Photo: Special to the Democrat)

In December, after a couple of days with the lows in the 30s, my wife, Morgan, and I decided it was time to get away. Our destination had to meet three conditions. It must be on the ocean, have a warm climate and be affordable. I am not sure why we settled on Barbados, but it was a great find.

When we travel, we like to immerse in the culture which includes sampling the local food and interacting with the people. Morgan looked online with VBRO and found a flat with a great view of the ocean in the Atlantic Shores neighborhoods. I am not certain of where they got this name, because it is actually located on the Caribbean Sea.

Roll with the flow

We have learned from our travels to foreign lands, you sometimes have to roll with the flow. For example, after a long flight, upon arrival, we headed to the Rental Car counter. Here we were told, “sorry man, we don’t have your reservation, or any cars available to rent."

The agent then said he had a “friend” who could get us a car. My first reaction was "I don't trust this situation." The deal was, if interested, in 30 minutes, we would have to meet this friend outside in the passenger pick up lane. Unfortunately, we had no other option to consider.

When the agent took us out to the rental car, we were greeted by a tall bearded man wearing a turban and full-length hijab. At first, I paused because his dress seemed incongruent for this Caribbean nation. Examining the situation, we noticed a rental car company decal on the car; he carried a rental agreement and a credit card machine.

This gave us some level of comfort and we accepted his offer. Upon return to the airport, we were instructed to call him, leave the car in the parking lot and put the keys under the mat. My lesson learned was, be careful about your biases and first impressions; objectively look at the situation. While the circumstances were a bit odd, this is not the U.S. Trust your gut. Fortunately, it all worked out without a hitch.

Morgan hanging with our chef at a local restaurant in Barbados.(Photo: Gregg Patterson)

We found Barbados to be a beautiful and proud Caribbean country with warm and welcoming people. Everywhere we traveled people let others out in traffic with a smile.

Entering a crowded parking lot, people would motion us to follow them to take their parking spot as they were leaving. If we paused to look at a map, someone would immediately stop to ask us if we needed directions.

Roll with the flow incident #2

In this country, visible road signs can be rare and there are few through roads. As a result, when exploring the island, we got lost. After driving in circles, we paused at an intersection of three roads.

Here we noticed a group of folks, including families sitting under a tree. Immediately, a young man rushed out to the car asking if we needed directions. In just a moment, he was in the back seat of the car offering to lead us to our destination on the Atlantic Ocean.

My first reaction was “holy cow, this stranger named Wendall is in our car; joking loudly and making fun of my driving (they do drive on the left-hand side of the road). How are we going to get him out of our car? In a few moments, we could tell he was no threat. He took us to a main road, jumped out and smiled and waved. He just wanted to help. It is sad that he related he is afraid to come to the U.S.

A big lesson from the people of Barbados, we all need to spread more of their kindness to each other throughout the world. It is also a reminder that we are all more alike than different.

Most mornings, we were able to walk and explore the neighborhoods and the beaches near our flat. There is something special about traveling by foot on the beautiful places on this planet.

It was a great getaway where I turned off the world and felt like a 10-year-old body surfing the waves of this beautiful island. It has been many years since I allowed myself to just go outside and play. This trip reminded me to find the simple pleasures of our days, no matter where we are in our lives.

So I urge you to grab a friend or family member, go outside and talk about ways we can be kinder to each other. Then talk about what you love doing and make it a habit to go out and play. Be prepared every day to roll with the flow.